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Dual Monarchy
The Dual Monarchy is a country situated in Western Europe, widely regarded as the foremost power in the region and potentially the world. Its European homeland consists of the southern majority of the island of Great Britain in size and the vast majority of its population, the entirety of Ireland, and nearly all of historical Occcitanian and French lands. While technically the kingdoms of both France and England are separate, in practice they are without a doubt one. Their monarch and ruling Parliaments (Parliament of the lords and Parliament of the People) are the same, and both largely take great caution and pride in ruling both sides of the channel. Unlike a union of two unequal partners, a completely hypothetical and as unlikely to happen as man is to fly being England and Scotland where England would undoubtedly hold the most power, in this union both sides are in essence equal. While the continental side is larger and more populous, the southern Provencal culture is distrusted from past rebellions and current grievances making 'France' primarily mean the French and Breton speaking portions. England meanwhile is quite united, having only English, Anglois, and Welsh cultures; making it quite equal in the relationship. Even so the Irish are to England as the Provencal are to France, if slightly more trustworthy as they are quite Catholic. Overview The primary and most common culture is Anglois, a mix of French and English cultures that comprises only 25.44% of the population. Breton (4.58%) and Welsh (2.94%) are both accepted cultures. The biggest unaccepted minorities are English (17.24%) and French (15.93%) which seems curious when first looked at but makes more sense when you realize the long and continuing attempt to merge the two cultures have alienated large swathes of both. The third largest minority is Provencal with 14.47% of the population, and the last notable culture of any number within the nation is Irish with 13.81% of the population. As for distribution of the Anglois, where bureaucrats can be put to work without migration, they are spread densely close to the English channel, and for the most parts the farther away from the channel the less there are, with two exceptions. The region of Aquitaine, primarily within the city of Bordeaux has a large population of Anglois; and the city of Dublin which has a decent sized local population of Anglois. Combined with the accepted cultures this in short means the further south and east you are on the mainland the worse the lack of administrators with the same on England except its the Northeast. Ireland and Occitania east of Aquitaine is somewhat likely to have poor administration for a long time as most would choose to go to the colonies or one of the new world democracies then the Irish isle. The main religion is Catholicism, and it comprises 77.71% of the population, the remaining is divided between Protestants (17.98%), the local religion in the colonies and small numbers of followers of Judaism. Moving away from demographics and distribution to Industry and innovation the Dual Monarchy has had the luxury of being able to sit out of the majority of recent European wars in favor of economic stability and glorious innovation. Because of this the Dual Monarchy is the foremost industrial power, but that might not mean as much as it sounds. This 'industrial revolution' is not very old and many nations are quickly catching up, chiefly Burgundy, Bohemia and Scandinavia. The fact that all the countries named have a higher literacy rate, especially the first and the last, doesn't bode well for continued supremacy. In this, its greatest weakness. Its educated are a very low amount compared to its rivals, and Its longest ally Spain is in the same situation. Speaking of rivals and allies, diplomacy. As mentioned Spain is a long time ally, inherited from an already existing alliance between Portugal and England before either Kingdom's union into something larger, and have a vast colonial Empire. Most of that Empire is at current revolting however in the form of Gran Columbia. It may or may not be in the Dual Monarchy's interest to assist in the war, and not in the way one would expect. If the Spanish indeed call for aid, and the Anglo-French forces join and win the fight, it is likely that Spain will go bankrupt trying to run its vast Arcadian-Amerigan holdings. Instead it may be better for its ally to let go of its large Empire upon the New World continents and instead focus in more compliant areas, or upon the home continent. Besides for Spain there is Savoy and Genoa in North Italy, minor powers on the grand scale but not nothing against Aragonese control in the southern part of the region. Also Navarra, a sub state of Aragon whose control has been rather lax allowing Anglo-French influence to seep in. Navarra is of little importance, but it wont raise war flags against the Dual Monarchy until their influence is routed out denying the Arragonese some support. Nations with cultural ties but not necessarily... accepting of Anglo-French diplomacy are Plantagenia, Amazonie and Beornia. The first was a profitable colony which the brother of the accepted King at the time organized to be his lands after his brother's succession. Eventually said brother in Arcadia launched an invasion of the home country in hopes of claiming the throne, but his hopes were dashed soon enough and sailed back to Arcadia and eventually the independence of the kingdom of Plantagenia was official. In this war between brothers the north-western Amerigan colonies aided Plantagenia while the south-east did nothing, angering the home country officials who abolished the local system of governace and merged the two colonies into one after war's end. Bitterness caused by this decision eventually led to Amazonie to declare independence and kick the Dual Monarchy out of continental Ameriga entirely. Last and certainly least is Beornia. Unlike the other two it is not an Anglo-French ex-colony, instead its ancestry comes solely from England and was never exactly condoned or encouraged by the Parliament or King. Those who settled here were English Patriots who disliked the practice of merging their culture with French culture, or were of the persecuted Anglican church, seeking a promised land away from the Dual Monarchy's oppressive eye. Not many actually immigrate there anymore as it is ruled by an absolute monarchy, and its King stylizes himself as the 'King of Engalnd', a slight only ignored and accepted because of the vast distance to Beornia from Paris and its proximity to the rising power Amazonie who quite likely would attempt to block their old overlord's aggression. History The execution of Joan of Arc would come to mark the beginning of the end for the French Wars of Succession (1337-1498), as the Armagnac Party would never again rise to what it once was. The Valois and their allies would fight on for another seventy years, but with the victory of Edward the Red Prince at Vichy the future of a Dual Monarchy of France and England was secured, only being confirmed with the 1498 Treaty of Rome. The threat of encirclement with the Marriage of Anne of Brittany with Jean III of Burgundy, led to the breakdown of the Anglo-Burgundian alliance in 1490 when, unable to challenge the marriage, invaded Brittany during the Anglo-Franco-Breton War (1490-1492). Burgundy, unable to provide support against France due to rebellion fermented by the House of Lorraine, forced Brittany's surrender. While it was too late to annul the marriage, with Jean having consummated it, the Treaty of Le Verger effectively saw Brittany annexed into the French crown. The Reformation presented new challenges to the unity of the thrones. The deep involvement of the Valois in aiding Zwingli's escape from Papal and Imperial imprisonment was too good a pretext to end any alternate succession, causing the Languedoc War (1532), and ending with the conquest of Languedoc & Auvergne, leaving only a rump Provencal state in the Azure Coast and in Rhone. In addition to the affairs of Provence, it also engaged in what became known as the Great Game with the Kingdom of Burgundy and the Crown of Aragon. The subject of these wars of influence came about with Navarre (which saw the conquest of the County of Foix & Bearn in 1516), the Italian Peninsula (which ended largely as a victory for the Aragonese, as most of the Peninsula, save Savoy, Genoa, Milan, and the Emilian Dukedoms fell under their influence, compared to only Savoy for the Dual Monarchy), and even the County of Provence (which easily fell into the Aragonese camp to save them from being destroyed by the Plantagenets.) While aggressively fighting heresy abroad the Kings of Both Thrones were initially tolerant of Protestants. King Francois I was torn between dynastic links to the firmly Catholic Jagiellons of Bohemia and a large portion of his populace firm in their new faith. Further strife in England and in Aquitaine combined with the growing threat of Burgundy (long the champion of the Protestant cause) tipped the balance leading first to the Anglo-French Wars of Religion (1598-1614) both within the Kingdom and among its neighbors, and later after the defeat of the Protestants, the Exodus of the Protestant Hugenots to Burgundy, Scandinavia and Colonial New Burgundy (now the Seven Republics) and the Anglican Father Pilgrim and their followers to what they would call New England (now Beornia). While England was briefly a viceroyalty under the Dukes of Gloucester, the throne would be forever undivided following the dissolution of the English Parliament by Henry VII in 1537, and its merging into the Estates General. The nobility with the exception of some distant provinces converged increasingly to Paris as French, became the official language throughout both kingdoms. This led to the gradual Francification of England as once English names were increasingly replaced by French. By the turn of the 19th century, French has become the primary common language in the Southern parts of England. The concept of a centralized Parliamentary body was revolutionary for its time, and, almost ironically, would influence the future legislative bodies of the Burgundian Estates-General, the Savoyard Subalpine Senate, the Aragonese Cortes and the Scandinavian Riksdag, among other European states. The Anglo-French history in Ireland was also something of a peculiar moment. During the French Wars of Succession, English, and later Anglo-French control of the Island was left in the hands of the House of Fitzgerald, the Earls of Kildare as much time was spent in building a new administrative apparatus for both England and France. Because of this, the Kildares, along with the House of Desmond, both began to rule Ireland as if it was their own Kingdom. The issues, which had been building up during the twilight years of the reign of Henri VIII culminated in the three Irish Wars (1573-1579, 1583-1594 and the Nine Years’ War, 1598-1607). Which gradually saw Ireland pacified, the rebel Irish Lords killed and the King of England and France reaffirmed as Lord of Ireland. With the unexpected ascension of James IV of Scotland to the Throne of the North in 1500 the Plantagenêts faced the threat of encirclement by the alliance of Burgundy and the former. The exodus of the early 17th century was compounded by wars against Burgundy and Scandinavia pushing emigration to the colonies of Plantagenia and Amazonie. However the pushing towards these colonies were not without strife there as well, as conflicts were rife between Colonial Vinland and New Burgundy, as well as against the Cherokee and Creek, among other First Nation Tribes. Eventually, the Dual Monarchy secured its position as the unquestioned power in Western Europe amid the gradual decline of Spain. A period of relative peace in Europe allowed the Dual Monarchy to expand its influences abroad. The Dual Monarchy established trading posts along the coast of Sierra Lionne, allowed them to trade European goods for slaves to be sent to the New World. A series of wars with the Kingdom of Kandy (1696-1703, 1705-1715, 1716-1717) saw the entirety of Ceylon becoming an Anglo-French crown colony, allowing access to the Indian Ocean Trade through good relations with the Nasirid Sultans of Bengal. At the same time there was a great degree of expansion in the Anglo-French colonies in the New World, as colonial conflicts with Scandinavia, Burgundy and Spain, reinforced its mother country’s position. This period of colonial expansion was broken with the War of the Anglo-French Succession, leading to the independence of Plantagenia under a cadet branch of the House of Plantagenêt. Remaining largely aloof during the opening stages of the Great German Wars allowed the industrial revolution to take hold and the Dual Monarchy seemed set to dominate this new realm as well. But the battles of the later war quickly demonstrated that the old rival Burgundy was again on the rise as even beaten and battered it remained victorious, losing only its other colony Amazonie to independence. The Dual Monarchy enters the middle of the 19th century as the ultimate global power, but for the first time in over a century its position does not appear unassailable in Anvers and courts beyond. Government Initially the King often chose the First Chancellors from the Cardinals/Archbishops of England and France with them alternating in ruling. The First one having been dated to the founding of the united Estates General in 1537. Around the 1560s the pool opened slightly and the Archbishops of Bordeaux and York were seen as potential Lord Chancellors.(Thus some like Richelieu or de Bethun could be Cardinal/Archbishop of those cities) Finally in the 1640s under Henri VIII the Lord Chancellor position was expanded to include those of nobility. Henri Arundell served as the first non-clergy Lord Chancellor. Initially after Arundell there was an even balance between the clergy and nobility in Lord Chancellor. Around the 1700s is where it shifts to being a title of primarily nobility only. The last clergy Lord Chancellor was Cardinal Charles Tallyrend in 1826 with the defeat of the Liberal Parti(Thought it'd be ironic that the Liberal Party is led by the Clergy) by the Conservateur Parti led by the Duke of Brittany. (Or should it be a smaller designation) Now as of 1836 the current setup of the Estates General is split into a Bicameral legislature. The Lower House is the Parliament of the People, the Upper House is the Parliament of the Lords. The Parliament functions much like the United States Congress with both sides eligible to propose legislation and both sides needing approval to pass legislation on to the King. The Parliament of the People is based on population size. It at the present game start possesses a membership of 501 members. The Leader of the Parliament of the People is picked by the Party ruling on the advice of the Lord Chancellor. The leader in the Lower House is known as the Lord of the Treasury. Every man may vote but there is a fee that is present to do so(Thus why its weighted universal ingame.) The Parliament of Lords is at the present time appointed by the King but there is tension in this model. It consists of a smaller size of 200 members. The Parliament of Lords consists of 20 Archbishops from the various Archdioceses in the nations with the remaining 180 consisting of various nobles from throughout the nation. The current format of the Parliament of Lords is after an election the Lords(Often of the Victorious Party) will present their choice for Lord Chancellor who will formally declare them a part of the King's Council. The King has in the past walked a tightrope of appointing the same number of members from each nation. Here is the seat makeup in the Parliament of Lords Wales: 9 Noble seats, 1 Clergy Brittany: 9 Noble seats, 1 Clergy Ireland: 13 Noble seats, 2 Clergy Occitania: 13 Noble seats, 2 Clergy(Must be Catholic Clergy but the nobles may be Protestant). Occitania would have more seats if not for laws punishing it for past rebellions and its Protestant majority England: 68 Noble seats, 7 Clergy France: 68 Noble seats, 7 Clergy The King's Council consists of members from both Parliaments made to create the agenda and also advise the King. This group is considered a part of the Executive (Which the King is a part of) and represents a bridge between the King's interests and the People/Estates. Elections are held every 4 years. In addition in the Parliament of Lords there is a reappointing every 4 years that is held after the election in the Parliament of the People. This reappointing period allows for a shift of the Parliament of Lords to accommodate party change in the Lower House. There has however, been periods where the legislature has been divided. List of Anglo-French Monarchs Henri V: 1420-1422 (House of Plantagenêt) Henri VI: 1422-1471 (House of Plantagenêt) Édouard IV: 1471-1491 (House of Plantagenêt) Louis XI "the Saint": 1491-1517 (House of Plantagenêt) Henri VII: 1517-1547 (House of Plantagenêt) Édouard V: 1547-1560 (House of Plantagenêt) Richard III: 1560-1589 (House of Plantagenêt) François: 1589-1621 (House of Plantagenêt) Louis XII: 1621-1630 (House of Plantagenêt) Henri VIII: 1630-1659 (House of Plantagenêt) Charles VII: 1659-1685 (House of Plantagenêt) Richard IV: 1685-1715 (House of Plantagenêt) Édouard VI: 1715-1765 (House of Plantagenêt) Henri IX: 1765-1789 (House of Plantagenêt) Édouard VII: 1789-1820 (House of Plantagenêt) Édouard VIII: 1820-1832 (House of Plantagenêt) Henri X: 1832- (House of Plantagenêt)